Marlee: Then and Now...

When we first brought Marlee home, she would take little leisurely naps on TB's shoes. Regardless of the location... kitchen, den, closet... you could always guarantee that Marlee would naps on his shoes.

Well... tonight, she wedges herself between our rented end table and TB's tennis shoe, and behold... a napping puppy.

It's 7 months later, and she still loves to lay her head on his shoes...

Television Troubles...

After the long move to PA, and the anticipation of the new apartment and soon, the newer apartment, I thought I would settle in for the first fall with my fall TV lineup. Of course, I will have to stay up an hour later to catch the latest scoop on Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters, but hey... you do whatcha gotta do in order to watch the docu-dramas that make up for the less than interesting aspects of our real lives.

Well... I was checking to see what was in store on what has turned out to be my favorite network... ABC... and to my dismay! They are canceling shows like Men In Trees, Cashmere Mafia, and Big Shots! What's a girl to do?

Those were weekly staples...what's next... Brothers and Sisters? Desperate Housewives? NBC lost the vote for favorite network with the series finale (or so they say) of Las Vegas. I've got to screen an entire new line up now... what going to happen to me on Thursday nights?

I guess everyone that I know (which isn't many here in the PA-area, so those of you at home... take notes!) will have to download Google Talk or Skype and keep me company while I pine over the loss of great TV.

Sundays... Mondays... Wednesdays... and Grey's Anatomy are all looking to my favor, but where is my Men in Trees? That was the glue that held it all together! When Sex and the City was canceled on HBO, we all needed a little Michael Patrick King romantic comedy... and that's were MiT came in.

Oh, well... wish me luck as I dig at the bottom of the World Wide Web pit to find reviews and a few snippets of the fall lineup to fill the voids left by the cruel, ugly world of the network conglomerations.

Oh... and by the way... If they would have asked me, I'd say get rid of Ugly Betty!!

Is It Raining... yes, no, maybe?!?

Today we tried out our new PhillyCarShare subscription. It is a really cool, non-profit organization that allows you to "share" cars with other Philadelphians for an hourly rate. For as low as $3.90 an hour, you can rent a car to drive around town or out of town, and it includes gas and insurance. There is one in our building's parking lot, so around 2 PM, Troy and I hopped in our "rent-by-the-hour" Audi. Talk about a clown car, we were squished in that itty bitty car, but we were able to drive north of Philadelphia to a Chickie's and Pete's for lunch. They have the best fries with white cheese sauce and Philly Chicken Cheese sandwiches.

We got back in the city and got in our few bags from Target. We went and got a few things that I forgot at the store last week... while I'm on the topic, this place provided "all" we need to have a furnished apartment. I'm sure that a broiler pan (I'm assuming that was what I found in the oven... it is wasn't, it was a high scale wash board!) may be popular in the NE, but frankly, I don't know how to use one and would rather have what I bought today at Target... A MUFFIN TIN!

Back to the topic at hand... We get in our building put up our few bags of groceries, unload and loaded the dishwasher, and got the dogs decked out in their walk gear. We head for the elevators, get to the first floor, and IT WAS RAINING!! You can't necessarily hear rain on the roof when you don't have one! Therefore, our trip outside with the dogs didn't go as planned. What do you get when you cross a random down-pour and a "gotta-go-right-now" peek-a-poo? Well... it ain't a happy one! He sorta looked like an angry little man.

Needless to say, we all came back in (by we all, I mean Max and me from out in the rain and Troy and Marlee from the foyer to the hallway) and made our way back to the 15th floor to wait out the rain. Now, we are in our apartment with two sleeping pooches, waiting for the top up thunderstorm to pass. Next time there is a slight pitter-pat, we'll wait it out rather than pull the dogs into wet, rain spattered streets. I don't want this little pup mad at me anymore.

Let PHREEDOM Ring!

Happy 4th of July... a day later! We had so much fun here in Philly for the Fourth. There was a huge parade that SWA title sponsored, so we got to be the first float in the parade. There was a huge contingent of SWA employees, friends, and family; a string band; 3 enormous stars like the ones from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade; and of course, the float. The band's costumes were undescribable. I'm not sure exactly what they were trying to depict, but I think that crazy is in there somewehre!

We marched from around 19th street and snaked our way to the Art Museum (which is about 1.2 miles of parading) where there were hot dogs and water, and lots of cheering and laughter for the Fourth and SWA. John Legend performed after the parade and before the fireworks.

It started to rain, so TB and I walked the long walk home (we weren't close to a train station, so total, we walked about 4 miles yesterday afternoon), and observed the concert on the TV and saw some fireworks from the rooftop of our apartment building. Since I've been sick for about 3 weeks now, we decided this was the safest place to see the celebration.

All of the people that TB works with are so nice, and they all get along really well. I feel like we've been here forever. It's like anywhere you go, the SWA employees take you in and make you feel like you are family... regardless of name, rank, or serial number!

Hope you enjoy the visual documentary of our PHirst PHourth in PHilly (ok... so I've taken the PH a little overboard... oh, well)!!

Scavengers No More!

It finally happened... I found a grocery store!! I drove into Delaware and went to Target, Giant Foods, Target, and PetSmart. AND IT WAS ALL TAX FREE!!

I couldn't believe it! I got enough food to last for a month... just in case I can't get back to Delaware in the next few weeks! The fresh markets and Walgreen's can support my milk, bread, and cracker needs until I can get more turkey, cheese, and chicken breasts!

I must say that I haven't ever enjoyed a trip to the grocery store like I did today! But the fresh markets have great seafood, fruits, and veggies... I don't think we're gonna starve anymore!!

I think that's my cousin...

Tonight after our 6-block walk with our furry loved ones, we came home and called it a night. After a little channel surfing, TB landed on the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge.

Max and Marlee had been playing and wrestling over the Wubba (dog owners... if you do not have a Wubba, they are only $12 at the local PetSmart and are worth every cent!), Max decided to chill on the couch by me while Marlee took the floor under TB's feet.

After looking down, TB got my attention, and Marlee was fixed on the TV! She was so interested in the agility drills. I know whe was thinking... Does chasing a little fuzzy, loud-mouth pooch count as an agility drill?!?

We laughed and laughed at her until she realized, and then she stretched out and laid down. Watching all those other pups working so hard tuckered her out!

And 1,800 Miles Later...

On Sunday morning, Max, Marlee, and I left our house at 5 AM with Mom close behind to start our trip to Philly. We stopped and filled up our tank, and hopped in I-20... then on I-59... and finally to I-65 where we ended up in Nashville. There with a smile on his face was Troy ready and waiting for the next 12 hours ahead.

It was a fun ride. We stopped at the Walgreen's for some medicine for Marlee. I don't think the rubber tennis ball she ate for dinner on Saturday agreed with her belly. After a potty break, we hit Jack in the Box for lunch. Jack in the Box got the condiments right on my sandwich, but the chicken breast patty was a little spicier than I bargained for... I got the spicy chicken sandwich, which made my mouth burn to the point that a large sip of Diet Coke didn't even stop the capsaicin tingle.

We continued east to Knoxville and then turned north towards Virginia. I didn't think we would ever get out of VIRGINIA! That has to be the longest drive I've ever been on. We decided to go ahead and go to Baltimore on Sunday and drive all the way through to Philly.

Max and Marlee were so tired. They slept the entire way on a backseat that could have been confused with a 5-star doggie spa. They had a blanket on the seat and sateen covered king size pillows; however, Max preferred to lay all over Marlee. It was really cute, and we were so proud that they made the trip easily.

I know that Troy and I were at our wits end by about 5 hours outside of Philly. I missed every "Welcome to Whatever" state we were in, so I was guessing at to the time... I wasn't very observant while Troy was driving!

We laughed and had plenty of family quality time... but that doesn't mean that I am going to EVER plan to make a drive like that again. My truck seats are permanently indented from our behinds being planted in them for 19 1/2 hours.

When we finally made it into town, it was 2:30 EST, and the pups weren't really excited about their new surroundings. We are doing better now, but Marlee is still a bit spooked about the entire city life thing. Max seems like it... he likes to chase the pigeons and watch the people.

Well... that's about all I've got right now from Philly. I'll write again tomorrow as we continue the search for a grocery store. We still aren't exactly sure how people around here eat other than for the local corner fruit salad and felafel ball stands, but I'm sure that we'll figure it out soon. We'll have to, or we'll be forced to eat turkey sandwiches from the Wawa. Ok... so now I'm just rambling. Enjoy the pictures!